Tim Denson, now a registered candidate for district 5 commission, was joined by several progressively minded Athenians for this memorable journey on March 5, the first day for candidates to qualify to put their names on the ballot for the local election.

Russell Edwards, district 7 candidate, and Patrick Davenport, district 1 candidate, were also present at the event and supported by those in attendance.

Chris Dowd, Athens for Everyone operations coordinator, sang and played his guitar while Edwards played a flute pipe in harmony. The song, a self-written take on the conditions of the current Athens community, echoed Denson’s remarks as it called for a need for “change” in the local government.

The music continued as the walk began from City Hall to the Board of Regents so the candidates could fill out and turn in their paperwork.

U.S. Representative Karen Handel and State Rep. Betty Price both drew opponents in candidate qualifying this week, according to Patch.com.

Democrat Lucy McBath opted out of her previously announced campaign against State Rep. Sam Teasley (R-Marietta) and into the election for the Sixth Congressional District, according to the AJC.

Locally, barring any surprise filings during the rest of the week, the Board of Commissioners District 2 field for both parties appeared to be set Monday. Two Democrats, Ben Ku and Desmond Nembhard, filed paperwork to have a shot at running against Commissioner Lynette Howard, who filed to run as a Republican, in the general election in November.

District 4 Commissioner John Heard has also qualified, and he has already drawn one opponent, Marlene Fosque, according to Gwinnett County Democratic Party Chairman Gabe Okoye.

The fields for two Gwinnett County Board of Education seats, in Districts 2 and 4, started to take shape as well, with a Republican in each race and Democrats starting to line up for each seat.

Louis Levenson, who spent 30 years as an appointed Fulton magistrate before he resigned shortly after Kirk’s appointment, announced Monday he will seek the position in the nonpartisan May 22 election.

Kirk’s appointment by Gov. Nathan Deal in 2015 was one of several changes authorized by the General Assembly under legislation that split the Magistrate Court off the State Court the year before.

A graduate of Washington and Lee University School of Law, Kirk joined the Georgia bar in 1992. Prior to her appointment, she spent four years as a Fulton County Juvenile Court judge and was with the county’s Child Attorney Office for three years before that.

“I’m proud of the work our court has accomplished over the last three years,” Kirk said. “My mission has been to empower litigants through innovation, efficiency and accessibility. To that end, we completed a much-needed website update and implemented a transparent, public selection process for new judges.

“Last, but not least, we implemented a mandatory e-filing system and helped clear the Court’s 30,000 small claims case backlog,” she added.

The race to replace retiring Cherokee County Commission Chairman Buzz Ahrens will be a contested battle on the Republican side, with former District 1 Commissioner Harry Johnston tossing his hat in the ring and fellow challenger Stanley Townsend also entering the primary. No Democratic candidate has qualified as of Tuesday evening.

Cherokee County District 4 Commissioner Scott Gordon has also announced he will not seek re-election, and at least two challengers have stepped forward to succeed the Woodstock resident. Republicans Steve Divine and Corey Ragsdale have each qualified to run for the seat, which covers the southwest quadrant of Cherokee. Woodstock Planning Commissioner Renee Gable has also indicated she will seek the seat, but has not qualified as of Tuesday.

The proposed ordinance is being recommended by Uptown Columbus Inc., a non-profit downtown redevelopment organization, to create what it terms an entertainment and restaurant district. The proposed ordinance would impact downtown businesses such as bars and restaurants that have an on-premise alcohol license and customers who want to carry an unfinished drink out of the establishment.

Currently, open containers are only allowed during permitted special events, such as Uptown Columbus Inc.’s spring and fall outdoor concert series and other events such as festivals that apply for permits. The proposed new law that could be under consideration by Columbus Council as early as next week would allow open containers every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

“This gives you the opportunity to have a glass of wine and go down the street and enjoy the rest of uptown,” said Ross Horner, president and CEO of Uptown Columbus Inc.

Helen City Council will vote on March 20th whether to allow open alcohol containers in the downtown dining district, according to AccessWDUN.

Richard Miley and Chris Holloway of Catch 22 Gastropub both addressed the commission during Tuesday’s meeting to urge commissioners to vote to allow open containers in the city’s dining districts.

Miley and Holloway asserted that allowing open containers would boost business for the tourist town, citing Roswell, Gainesville, Smyrna and a section of Nashville where visitors are allowed to purchase alcohol at an eatery then walk around town with it.

The ethics ordinance, passed last June, requires that any city officials who have received campaign contributions of $1,000 or more from an individual or entity recuse themselves from voting on any business related to that campaign donor. Council members voted unanimously to approve the ethics ordinance.

The question arose following a request from frequent campaign donor and developer Fred Williams, who came before council for approval of a subdivision application.

Williams’ campaign donations to four council members are all more than the $1,000 ethics limit. That leaves only two members able to vote. Four members are required for a quorum to conduct city business.

Data, Data Everywhere

The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that an announcement by Facebook of a new data center to be located in Newton County has been moved up two weeks to today.

Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) is expected to invest up to $42 billion over two decades in the server farm at Stanton Springs, a 1,620-acre master-planned development about 30 miles east of Atlanta.

Facebook, which will develop the campus in four phases, would invest nearly $2.5 billion in improvements and equipment through 2029, according to documents obtained by Atlanta Business Chronicle. This amount does not include land acquisition costs or periodic investments in equipment upgrades and replacements.

The social networking behemoth is expected to initially invest $750 million and create up to 100 tech jobs at the data center campus, which will be near biotech Shire’s $1.2 billion manufacturing plant.

Inexpensive power and real estate are major drivers for the data center industry. Georgia Power is selling power to data centers for 3.5 cents per kwh, down from 5.5 cents per kWh from year ago.

The cost of land in metro Atlanta is half of that in Northern Virginia, while the cost of living is about 30 percent lower.

Atlanta is a hot market for data centers, including one of the world’s largest, according to WABE.

There are at least 50 data center facilities in Georgia, making it the eighth fastest-growing market in the U.S., according to Georgia State University’s Fiscal Research Center.[Wendy McArthur of JLL’s Data Center Solutions Group] said Georgia offers lots of land and cheap electricity as well as a good location.

Though data centers don’t employ many full-time staff members, state lawmakers want to lure more of them here through tax breaks on computer equipment purchased or leased by the data center.

During a recent House committee hearing, the bill’s main sponsor, state Rep. Trey Kelley, said Georgia needs tax breaks to stay competitive overall.

“The presence of data centers in our state will help us expand our connectivity to rural broadband and also be a tool used by our economic developers to help attract new business to our state,” Kelley said.

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